Craving something cold, sweet, and a little bit caffeinated? Benjamina Ebuehi’s spiced coffee granita with whipped cream is the perfect answer. It’s light, refreshing, and gives you both a sugar fix and a caffeine hit in one scoop.
The recipe is inspired by café de olla, a traditional Mexican drink made with black coffee, cinnamon, cloves, and piloncillo (a type of unrefined sugar). Ebuehi enjoyed it daily while holidaying in Oaxaca, but for this version she swaps piloncillo for dark brown sugar, which is much easier to find.
The best part? It looks and tastes fancy, but it’s very simple to make. All you need is a bit of patience while it freezes.
Spiced Coffee Granita with Whipped Cream
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes + cooling
Freeze time: 2 hours 30 minutes or more
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 500ml freshly brewed coffee or espresso
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 75g dark brown sugar
- 120ml double cream
- Pinch of flaky sea salt
Method:
- Pour the coffee into a small pan, add the cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. Heat gently until it simmers. Let it bubble for 5 minutes until the sugar dissolves and it smells aromatic.
- Remove from heat, let it cool completely, then strain into a shallow freezer-safe dish.
- Freeze for 1 hour, then scrape it with a fork. Put it back in the freezer for another 20–30 minutes, then repeat the scraping. Do this two or three more times until you have fine ice crystals.
- Lightly whip the cream with a pinch of salt.
- To serve, spoon the icy granita into small glasses and top with a dollop of whipped cream.
It’s coffee, dessert, and a summer cooler all in one.
